Indian captain Virat Kohli was at his prolific best against South Africa in the second T20I at Mohali. India were set a target of 150 and this set the tone perfectly for Virat Kohli to walk out and take control of proceedings. After getting his eye in, it was business as usual for the skipper.
He was in his elements and cruised along to an unbeaten 72 which powered India to a convincing win by 7 wickets. This innings also earned him his 11th Man of the Match award in cricket's shortest format. With this, the Indian skipper matched former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi who too has 11 Man of the Match awards. The two are now tied in the second spot - this list is led by Afghanistan veteran Mohammad Nabi.
Afridi congratulates Kohli for his efforts
Impressed by Kohli's efforts, Afridi took to Twitter where he termed the Indian captain 'a great' and wished him success for future. "Congratulations Kohli! You are a great player indeed, wish you continued success, keep entertaining cricket fans all around the world," tweeted Afridi after the match.
"Bowlers showed a lot of character. The pitch was very good and they (South Africa) got off to a good start so it was an outstanding effort from the bowler to pull the game back from us," he said at the post-match press conference," Kohli said at the end of the match.
The Indian skipper also added that if a cricketer wants to win matches for his team, then the player will find a way to get the job done.
"It's the badge in front of my shirt. It's a pride to play for my country so whatever it takes to get over the line, I will do. Get the team across the line anyhow. If you want to make your team win, you'll find a way," Kohli said after the match.
South Africa captain Quinton de Kock spoke about the inexperience of his bowling attack and hoped they could learn on the job. The two sides meet for the third T20I in Bengaluru.
"I think we got off to a good start. Towards the end they bowled pretty well, they understood the conditions a lot quicker than we did. (On the debutants) There was a lot of pressure coming in for some of the new guys and I thought they played really well. Obviously we didn't get a winning start but I thought they held their nerve very well," de Kock said after the match.
